NPower: FG begins payment of arrears to disengaged beneficiaries, 2016-2018

By Ridwan AREMU

The federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social development ( FMHDS) has said that 9,066 of the the 14,021 accounts of exited Batch A and B Npower beneficiaries have been cleared and processed for 5-month outstanding stipends owed the beneficiaries.

This was contained in a statement by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali in Abuja on Friday 17th September 2021.

Bashir stated that, the ministry has commenced the final payment of the arrears on few outstanding allowances of Batches A and B Npower volunteers, following the payment system challenges faced by the federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social development.

Bashir added that the accounts of the affected beneficiaries numbered 14,021 were flagged in March 2020 by the federal government payment system, the Government integrated financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) for various reasons including but not limited to, beneficiaries multiple accounts and beneficiaries account receiving other payments from multiple federal Government Ministries, department and agencies ( MDAs) on permanent employment or for participating in other schemes.

Bashir, however, stated that the acts violate the regulations guiding the Npower volunteers Programme and it’s punishable under the law.

It would be recalled that, the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Social development and Disaster Management, Hajia Saddiya Umar Farouq had said that, all payments of the exited beneficiaries had been paid and the Ministry owed nobody. The affected beneficiaries, in a statement in May 2021, countered the minister’s claims and stated that none of them received any payment from the Ministry has claimed by the Minister.

The Npower Volunteers scheme launched in 2016 by the Federal Government, engaged 500,000 beneficiaries in batches A and B for two years and were disengaged in July 2020, following the expiration of their tenure as volunteers.

Read the full Statement below:

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE PAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING ALLOWANCES OF BATCH A AND B OF THE 2016 AND 2018 N POWER VOLUNTEERS NATIONWIDE

Following the payment system challenges faced by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development which has been overcome, the Ministry has commenced the final payment of the arrears on the few outstanding allowances of Batches A and B N Power volunteers. The accounts of these 14,021 volunteers were flagged in March 2020 by the Federal Government payment system, the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), for various reasons including but not limited to:

1) beneficiaries having multiple accounts, and
2) beneficiaries account receiving other payments such as salaries and allowances from multiple Federal Government Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) on permanent employment or for participating in other schemes. These acts violate the regulations guiding the N-Power volunteer programme and could amount to gross misconduct and corruption.

The Ministry carried out detailed investigation in collaboration with relevant government MDAs and so far the accounts of 9,066 volunteers were cleared for final payment. Based on this reality, the 5 months allowance arrears of these volunteers, totaling N150,000.00 each, is currently being paid. The allowances of the remaining 4,955 is withheld pending conclusion of further investigation. Where clear violations of the agreements are established, such violators will be subjected to appropriate sanctions as stipulated by the law.

Contrary to some insinuations in the public domain, this process is a clear demonstration of the Ministry’s resolve to address this unfortunate incidence in a transparent manner for accountability and to forestall its future occurrence. As it has consistently maintained, the investigation caried out by the Ministry is in the best interest of the Country and has the major goal of institutionalizing the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and ensuring its efficient management in line with Mr President’s resolve to ensure transparency and accountability in its implementation at all times.

The Ministry regrets the delays experienced in concluding this process, but assures the public that transparency and accountability cannot be compromised in all its activities.